NFL Notes: Buccaneers, Packers, Panthers, & Titans

Buccaneers

• QB Josh McCown does not have surgery schedule at this time for his injured thumb and is unlikely to play in Week 5. (Rick Stroud)

Packers

Former Packers GM Ron Wolf discussed their plans during the 1996 draft and how they felt confident that they were going to select LB Ray Lewis.

“We had his agent on the phone as I recall it, and we had Ray Lewis on the phone,” Wolf said, via CBS Sports. “I think there was less than a minute to go. We already had his name in; our guy standing there at the [draft table in New York] was on the phone with his name in.

“And then of course we heard that Baltimore selects Ray Lewis, linebacker from the University of Miami. And that was not my finest moment. There is a period when you’re going through the draft process and you’re in that draft mode so to speak. There is a real tension there. There’s a tightness there. It’s all the things that make it so exciting. And you have to keep above board at all times, and kind of like the saying goes, ‘You’ve got to keep your game face on.’ “

Of course, the Ravens wound up drafting Lewis right in front of Green Bay and he would go on to have a Hall of Fame career in Baltimore.

Panthers

• RB DeAngelo Williams has a hard cast on his injured ankle. (Joe Person)
• Williams told fans on Monday that he’s dealing with a high-ankle sprain. (Jeremy Igo)
• HC Ron Rivera is hopeful that RB Jonathan Stewart (knee) can play against the Bears. (Ed Werder)

Titans

• HC Ken Whisenhunt mentioned that rookie RB Bishop Sankey will likely get more reps against the Browns this week.

“You will see (more reps for Sankey). That’s coming,” Whisenhunt said, via the Nashville Tennessean. “And I think you’ll see more of that earlier in the game this week.”